H is for Happiness

 

 April marks the 15th anniversary of my blog, so during the A-Z blogging challenge, I will be sharing previous posts from over 2,000 I have written.

Today, I'm sharing a post from August 2014 when I was contemplating happiness and its relationship to mindfulness. At various times, throughout the years, this has been a theme I've returned to in one way or another.

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Happiness and Mindfulness

Seems to me that there is a lot of talk these days about happiness. Whether we're happy or whether we would be happier if we only emphasized the "right" things in our lives instead of the "wrong" things. Whether we're happier today than we were in yesteryear. I think one reason* there is so much talk about happiness is that the definition is different for everyone. Also, happiness is a complex concept and one that's hard to define and measure. But despite these complexities, there are people out there who are trying to understand and define happiness in a scientific way.
 
One of these people is Matt Killingsworth. He developed a happiness app and is collecting data about people's moods and correlating them with what they are doing. From his various findings, there is one thing that is consistent across the study. People are happier when they are fully engaged in what they are doing instead of letting their minds wander. That was true even if they didn't like what they were doing at the time. Apparently, the reason for this is that when our mind wanders, it usually goes to negative places and focuses on things we are worried about. And when we're worried, we're usually not happy.

Unfortunately, I'm normal in this way. After learning about Killingsworth's research, I noticed that while I was mowing, I was spending a fair amount of time with my mind wandering to worrisome thoughts. The same thing happened later while I was taking a walk. I knew I was the worrying kind, but I didn't realize how much idle worrying I actually do.

image source

So I wondered if there was anything I could do about this. I concluded that I am going to try to practice more mindfulness. I am going to try to be fully present in whatever I am doing and not have my body busy doing something while my mind wanders off to worry. When I'm mowing, I am going to listen to the sound of the mower and notice the plants I am cutting. When I'm walking, I'm going to notice how long my stride is and how my arms are swinging. And with enough practice, maybe I won't be the typical person anymore. My thoughts will stay in the present instead of worrying about the future. And just maybe, I will finally understand what the Buddhist monks have known for a very long time--mindfulness is an important key to happiness.

(Okay, to be truthfully honest, I've gone through this phase before with only minor success. It takes a lot of work to retrain a lifetime of rapid-fire, worrisome thoughts. But I'm gonna give it a try.)

*I think another reason there is so much talk about happiness is that we are doing very well as a whole. We have our basic needs met, so we have the luxury to think about things such as whether or not we are happy.

Until next time...

G is for Girl vs. Boy

 April marks the 15th anniversary of my blog, so during the A-Z blogging challenge, I will be sharing previous posts from over 2,000 I have written.

Several years ago, I ran a series of Girls vs. Boys where I presented a scenario, and you had to guess who the girls were and who the boys were.

Here was my intro and three of the stories.

Before I had kids, I thought each child was an individual, and I didn't believe much in gender stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because that was the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same things, they would have the same tendencies. (Of course, with individual differences.) Then I spent some time in the real world of kids and realized I might have been mistaken. Possibly, there were some differences between girls and boys.

I am going to share some stories with you and let you decide who you think the girls were and who the boys were.

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Wally's Birthday Party

Wally was in fifth grade and turning 11. He had a pool party for his birthday at the local YMCA with both boys and girls. After an hour of swimming, the kids had pizza and soda. However, it took forever before the refreshments could be served. We were kept waiting by one group who were in the bathroom changing and making themselves presentable. Some of the other group changed out of their wet clothes, but many did not. When they finally sat down to eat, all of the boys sat at one end of the table, and all of the girls sat at the other end. One group saw how much pizza they could get into their mouths at once and laughed as they punched each other. The other group talked about who they were “dating.”

You decide. Which were the boys and which were the girls?

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In case you had any doubts: The boys were the wet punchers, and the girls were the well-coiffed ones. It may have been peer pressure, but there was no mixing between the two. I found it very interesting that some of the boys that the girls talked about that they were dating were some of the boys who were at the party. However, the boys were clueless that they were dating anyone.

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Legos

When Theo was six, I was sitting on his bedroom floor with him, playing with Legos. One of us was building a rectangular structure that looked much like a tall building, and the other one of us was building a smaller structure that was "flying" around the room. At first, we were both concentrating on our own creations, but then Theo looked at mine and said, "You build just like a girl." He said all of the girls he had seen play with Legos had built something like I did. That surprised me, but he was quite adamant about his conclusion.

You decide: Which one of us made the building and which one of us made the flying object?
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In case you want to know: I built the building and Theo built the flying object.

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Kindergarten Suns

Wally was in kindergarten, and we were visiting on parents' night. On the wall were pictures the kids had drawn, and we noticed that several of them featured a sun wearing sunglasses. Upon further investigation, we discovered that they were all drawn by one group of kids in the class. We thought this was interesting, but didn't think much about it until Theo was in kindergarten three years later. Then we saw the same thing--sunglasses on all of the suns in the drawings of one group.

You decide. Did the boys or the girls draw the sunglasses on the suns?

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I'm not sure what it means, but the girls were the ones drawing sunglasses on the sun.

 

Until next time...

F is for Faucet vs. Spigot

 April is the 15th anniversary of my blog, so I will be sharing previous posts this month from over 2000 that I have written. Today's entry has no special significance. It's just one that caught my eye as I was scrolling through old posts. This was originally published in December 2013.

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I Was Wondering...Faucet vs. Spigot

What is the difference between a faucet and a spigot?

In my last Thankful Sunday post, I said I was thankful for the cold water that came out of the faucet at the house I was visiting. Well, that's what I said, but not the first time I wrote it. The first time, I said that I was thankful for the cold water that came out of the spigot. I wasn't sure what to say, but I was tired and just chose one. Now that I have a little time, I thought I would figure out what was what.

And once again, I'm confused because they are synonyms. Both spigot and faucet refer to a tap (another synonym) or a valve that controls the flow of liquid into something. You can have a tap in anything from a cask to a water pipe. I never thought about it, but that is where the phrase "tap water" comes from, which refers to water coming straight from the faucet/spigot/tap.

However, there are some US regional variations in usage. In the south, a spigot is more commonly used, while a faucet is more commonly used in the north. Also, some use spigot to mean a tap outside and one that is more utilitarian, while faucet is used for a tap inside that is fancier.

So there you have it. Use either one you want, and you will be okay. After all of this talk about water, I'm thirsty. I'm going to have a drink of tap water from the faucet after I wash my hands from the spigot in the bathroom. :)

What word do you use, and do you use different words for a tap in different situations?

Want to know more?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_%28valve%29
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faucet

Until next time...

E is for Easter Candy

 

April marks the 15th anniversary of my blog, so I will be sharing previous posts this month for the A-Z Challenge, drawn from the over 2,000 I have written. 

When I first planned this post, I thought it would be for Saturday, the day before Easter. But I was mixed up. However, I think it's still okay to post today, the day after Easter, as the main topic is the jelly beans. Originally, I did this post in 2019 for "J" during the A-Z Challenge, but I've adapted it for "E".

At the end, there will be an Extra section about something we saw yesterday.

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Jelly Beans

The techniques for making jelly beans have been around for hundreds of years, but when they were first made is uncertain. One thing people seem to agree on is that the first time they were mentioned in writing in the US was in 1861 by William Schrafft, a candy maker, who encouraged people to send jelly beans to the troops. In 1905, they were selling for 9 cents/pound in Chicago.

Did you know that jelly beans weren't associated with Easter until the 1930's when someone decided they looked like eggs, as well as beans? Before that, they were considered a Christmas candy, and even today, after Easter, Christmas is the next most popular time for jelly bean consumption. That is a fact that is broadening my horizons because I have never associated jelly beans with Christmas. However, a quick Google search showed that there are plenty of people out there who are happy to sell you red and green jelly beans, so there must be something to it.

And speaking of jelly beans looking like eggs, when I think of jelly beans, I always think of eggs. Never as beans, which now seems curious since they are called jelly beans. However, when I mentioned the Christmas and Easter facts about the candies to Ward, he said he guessed that they could look like eggs, but he always thinks of them as beans, because after all, they are called beans. And after all of these years of marriage, who knew we had such differing ideas about jelly beans? :)

One of my thoughts for this post was that maybe I could make some homemade jelly beans and share my experience. I had no idea how to make them, but since it's the day of Google and YouTube, I thought there would be some easy instructions to find. And I was right. There were several recipes involving gelatin, sugar, candy thermometers, and lots of time for drying. (Here's my favorite.) It would have been an interesting experiment, but I should have thought of it before last night.

I had a few more things to share on the subject, like Jelly Bellies were the first jelly beans to add the flavor to the inside instead of just in the coating, but I think this post has reached its natural conclusion. I'm hungry now, and I don't think anything will satisfy me except jelly beans. And I may not even wait until they are marked down after Easter to buy some.

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E is also for Extra Easter Candy.

A neighboring town features a Peeps show every year as a fundraiser for the Arts Council. Yes, I mean those kinds of Peeps--those marshmallowy little chicks and bunnies that make a grand appearance every Easter. This year, we got to see the show for the first time. There were 196 entries of all kinds of imaginative things done with Peeps or a Peeps theme. They were made by kids, adults, charities, nursing homes, artists, and anyone who had an inclination. Below are a few pictures from our visit to the Peep show.

Until next time..

Happy Easter and Lone Star State, Days Ten, Eleven, and Twelve

I'm taking a break from the A-Z challenge today to wish you Happy Easter and to finish our vacation summary.

Happy Easter from my third-grade self. 😊

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Travel, Visiting, and a Blast from the Past

On day ten, we traveled from Austin back to Dallas. But first, we had lunch with my former supervisor, who had recently relocated to Austin from Maryland. It was kind of crazy that I hadn't seen her since a year ago, when I retired, but met up with her in Texas. It was fun catching up without the constraints of a manager/employee relationship.

Then it was on the road again. Austin was another big city with impressive traffic and lots of confusing interchanges, but we made it back to the open road. As we got closer to Dallas, we decided to stop at Buc-ee's. Buc-ee's is essentially a truck stop on steroids, and we were told that it was a must-see. They began in Texas after we left and have spread across several southern states, but none have made it as far north as we live. One of Buc-ee's claims to fame is its very clean restrooms. They did not disappoint in this area. 

There was a lot of Buc-ee merchandise of all kinds (and lots of other pretty nice stuff). Buc-ee was available for pictures.

But I quickly found what I was looking for-the fudge counter. We got a pound of assorted varieties to take to our friends in Dallas.

We stayed with friends in Dallas the next two nights and had a good time telling stories and eating delicious homemade food. However, we did go see a couple more things. First up was South Fork Ranch, from the TV series Dallas fame. If you're not familiar, Dallas was the longest-running nighttime soap opera from 1978 to 1991. It gained international fame with the cliffhanger of "Who shot JR?"

Me and my friend, that dastardly JR Ewing.

We toured the ranch house. Some of the show was filmed here, and some on a sound stage in Hollywood.

Ward got to try out Bobby's Mercedes 450 SL.

The plan for the afternoon was to do some hiking in a nearby park. However, it was very windy, so instead we went browsing at one of Ward's favorite stores, Woodcraft. There are none close to us, so he doesn't get the chance to go there as often as he would like.

I looked around for a while, then went to the car to read and let Ward browse to his heart's content.

The next afternoon, we headed to the airport for our flight home. Despite extra delays in many airports because of TSA staffing, we had no problems. In addition, our flights were on time and routine. Just the way we like them, and experience has taught us to be thankful for that when it happens.

We are home now and getting back into our routines and responsibilities. It was a great vacation with just the right mix of sightseeing and visiting with friends. I just wish we lived closer, and we will try to make the next visit so long in the making.

Thanks for coming along on our trip.

Until next time...